Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-152). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Eng.). / Written for the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2008/01/14). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005.

In a highly dynamic and complex environment, brand marketing is arduous but crucial to any enterprise which seeks to succeed in the global market place. How does a brand overcome numerous challenges to become rooted in the minds of the target audiences, and how is strong brand equity built? A new marketing concept, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), emerged in the 1990s to answer this question. The theory highlights ¡§integration¡¨ by harmonizing various marketing messages to create ¡§synergy¡¨ for a brand and is based on an outside-in database to build relationships with target audiences to advance brand value. This study applies IMC to brand marketing, using BenQ as a case study. In a comprehensive probe into BenQ¡¦s brand marketing, most of IMC¡¦s important concepts are incorporated in the analytical framework of this research. The first element is that IMC depends on cross-functional design with support from the top and senior managers. The second element, outside-in databases are at the center of IMC and act as an engine for the sequential various marketing communication activities. A company should establish its integrated database and statistically analyze the database regularly to determine market trends. Following on an understanding of target audiences, obtained from the database, multiple marketing communication tools (the third element) should support brand marketing in a coherent and synergistic way. Messages and activities must follow principles of consistency, integration, clarity, systematization, economics, and concentration. The fourth element shows that IMC¡¦s target audiences are not confined just to customers, prospects or end customers but include all selected target audience groups. Differences among these target audiences must be considered. The fifth element emphasizes that a successful brand is nothing more than a special relationship underpinned by two-way communications. These five elements of IMC must be considered interactively, without focusing on an individual factor in isolation. A successful integrated marketing communications program is a circular system. Results in this study indicate that BenQ reflects IMC concepts on brand marketing. BenQ¡¦s Marcom team is a cross-functional design with support from the top and senior managers to undertake brand marketing. With clear outside-in thought, BenQ integrates various marketing communication tools to solicit actively target audiences¡¦ data for inclusion in a database, and to mold a brand image consistent with the brand mission. Efforts made to understand comprehensive target audiences through distinct channels lead to mutual relationships between BenQ and target audiences. Some disadvantages as follows arise when IMC is applied to brand marketing. Many data concerning target audiences are dispersed in various databases of BenQ without an integrated linkage. BenQ does not regularly analyze or utilize a database for brand marketing, but sometimes relies on purchasing data from external sources. In addition, marketing communication tools are not typically derived from a database and the data in the database are not very detailed. Also, the tracking of post-purchase results and responses could be reinforced. The evaluation of performances can be more tightly connected to BenQ¡¦s core mission in brand marketing. Removing these gaps between what BenQ has done, and the ideal IMC framework, will yield great brand equity.

Ion induced charge collection dynamics within Integrated Circuits (ICs) is important due to the presence of ionizing radiation in the IC environment. As the charge signals defining data states are reduced by voltage and area scaling, the semiconductor device will naturally have a higher susceptibility to ionizing radiation induced effects. The ionizing radiation can lead to the undesired generation and migration of charge within an IC. This can alter, for example, the memory state of a bit, and thereby produce what is called a "soft" error, or Single Event Upset (SEU). Therefore, the response of ICs to natural radiation is of great concern for the reliability of future devices. Immunity to soft errors is listed as a requirement in the 1997 National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors prepared by the Semiconductor Industry Association in the United States. To design more robust devices, it is essential to create and test accurate models of induced charge collection and transport in semiconductor devices. A heavy ion microbeam produced by an accelerator is an ideal tool to study charge collection processes in ICs and to locate the weak nodes and structures for improvement through hardening design. In this dissertation, the Ion Beam Induced Charge Collection (IBICC) technique is utilized to simulate recoil effects of ions in ICs. These silicon or light ion recoils are usually produced by the elastic scattering or inelastic reactions between cosmic neutrons or protons and the lattice atoms in ICs. Specially designed test structures were experimentally studied, using microbeams produced at Sandia National Laboratories. A new technique, Diffusion Time Resolved IBICC, is first proposed in this work to measure the average arrival time of the diffused charge, which can be related to the first moment (or the average time) of the arrival carrier density at the junction. A 2D device simulation tool, the MEDICI code, and heavy-ion microbeams are used to calculate and measure charge collection and relative arrival time on stripe-like test junctions. The MEDICI simulation is in qualitative and sometimes even quantitative agreement with the microbeam measurements. The amount of charge collection and the magnitude of average arrival time for diffused charge collection can be crucial to understanding and mitigating radiation induced circuit malfunctions during normal IC operations.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004. / Rhodes, William, Committee Member ; Brooke, Martin, Committee Chair ; Chang, G.K., Committee Member ; Hasler, Paul, Committee Member ; Kohl, Paul, Committee Member. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-139).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004. Directed by James D. Meindl. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 289-297).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-97).